The prolific global technology investor is among a number of parties exploring leading a secondary sale of shares worth at least $40 billion, Sky News learns.
One of the world’s most prolific tech investors is in talks to lead a new investment round in UK fintech Revolut.
Sky News has learned that Tiger Global Management is one of several parties that have expressed an interest in acquiring more Revolut shares.
Tiger Global, which is a shareholder in Meta, owner of Facebook, Microsoft and semiconductor giant Nvidia, co-led Revolut’s $800 million seed funding round in 2021.
The latest deal will not involve issuing new shares, but many of the digital bank’s employees will sell their existing stakes – known as a secondary offering.
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Last week, Sky News revealed that Nik Storonsky, who is the CEO of the fintech giant, plans to offload tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars worth of stock in the deal.
Sources said SoftBank, which also led the 2021 round, was unlikely to participate in the final process.
Revolut is hoping for a valuation of at least $40 billion, with sources suggesting it could end up being as much as $45 billion.
This was revealed by Sky News last month Revolut hired Morgan Stanley to organize the sale of secondary shares and that it would not be lower than the valuation of USD 33 billion for which it received primary financing in 2021.
Although the fintech, which has more than 40 million customers, does not plan to raise new capital in the deal, any major share sale will be closely watched across the global fintech sector.
Revolut this month revealed record earnings of £438m last year on sales that almost doubled to £1.8bn.
Founded in 2015, the company has experienced a number of regulatory and compliance issues, with reports last year highlighting its release of funds from accounts flagged as suspicious by the National Crime Agency.
The company’s growth has been at breakneck speed, growing from 16.4 million customers at the time of its Series E fundraising nearly three years ago.
Insiders said that despite a protracted decline in tech valuations over the past two years, Revolut’s relentless expansion could easily justify maintaining its status as Britain’s most valuable fintech.
Monzo, the British digital bank, recently confirmed a Sky News report that it had closed a funding round worth nearly £500 million, including backing from an arm of Google owner Alphabet and Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund.
Elsewhere, however, the funding landscape has been bleaker, with a growing number of tech companies that have attracted unicorn valuations of more than $1 billion now struggling to stay afloat.
Revolut has granted stock options to many of its 10,000 employees as part of their compensation packages, although it was unclear how many would be eligible for equity in the current transaction.
The proposed share sale comes as Revolut’s investors continue to await news on its application for a UK banking licence.
The company asked regulators to become a bank in Britain more than three years ago, but has so far failed to win approval.
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Initiates believe that a positive result could be achieved immediately.
Storonsky has publicly criticized the delay and last year questioned the approach of UK regulators and politicians when he indicated he would not consider listing on the London Stock Exchange.
One person close to Revolut said other board members could also participate in the secondary sale of shares.
The company is chaired by Martin Gilbert, a City veteran, and its other directors include Michael Sherwood, a former Goldman Sachs executive who was jointly responsible for its non-US operations and who was regarded as one of the most skilled traders of his generation.
Revolut declined to comment, while Tiger Global did not respond to a request for comment.